The French have been doing lot of excavation in Mehrgarh (in Balochistan), home of one of the oldest farming communities in the subcontinent that existed about 8000 years ago. Mehrgarh was abandoned by the time of emergence of the Indus Valley Civilization and now findings have surfaced which link these two.
Most of the ruins at Mehrgarh are buried under alluvium deposits, though some structures could be seen eroding on the surface. Currently, the excavated remains at the site comprise a complex of large compartmental mud-brick structures.
Function of these subdivided units, built of hand-formed plano-convex mud bricks, is still not clear but it is thought that many were used probably for storage, rather than residential, purposes. A couple of mounds also contain formal cemeteries, parts of which have been excavated.
Although Mehrgarh was abandoned by the time of the emergence of the literate urbanized phase of the Indus civilization around Moenjodaro, Harapa, etc., its development illustrates the development of the civilization’s subsistence patterns, as well as its craft and trade.
Mr Jarrige said that many beautiful ceramics had been found at the site in Balochistan and were believed to be of the era as early as eighth millennium BC. The French archaeologist said that studies suggested that the findings at Mehrgarh linked this area to the Indus civilization.
There are indications that bones were used in making tools for farming, textile, and there are also evidences of the use of cotton even in that period. Mr Jarrige pointed out that the skeletons found at the site indicated that the height of people of that era was larger than that of the later period.
He said that the architecture at that time was well developed. Rice was the staple food for those people and there were also indications of trade activities. [8,000-year-old civilization in Mehrgarh proved via IndiaArchaeology]
